DIGEST

United States bounces back, edging Jamaica in World Cup qualifying

The United States rebounded from a loss at Jamaica in World Cup qualifying, beating the Reggae Boyz 1-0 Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio, as Herculez Gomez curled a free kick in the 55th minute.

After hitting the frame three times in a dominant first half as goalkeeper Dwayne Miller made several sparkling saves, the U.S. went ahead after Clint Dempsey was fouled by Rodolph Austin. Gomez’s drive from 28 yards went over the defensive wall and to the left of a diving Miller, who was only able to lightly brush the ball with his fingertips.

The United States, which made five changes to its starting lineup after Friday’s 2-1 loss to Jamaica in Kingston, is tied with Guatemala with seven points atop Group A in the CONCACAF qualifying semifinals. Jamaica also has seven points but trails on goal difference.

More soccer

Spain opened the defense of its World Cup title with a 1-0 win at Georgia on Roberto Soldado’s 86th-minute goal, while England stumbled to a 1-1 tie at home against Ukraine. Spain, the world and European champion, has won 23 consecutive qualifiers since 2007.

College basketball

Harvard basketball co-captain Kyle Casey plans to withdraw from school amid a cheating scandal that also might involve other athletes, according to several reports. The school is looking into whether at least 125 undergraduates cheated by working together on a take-home final exam in the spring.

• An ambulance was sent to the Lubbock home of Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie for the second time in 10 days while he remains on leave as the school investigates his leadership of the program. Gillispie, in a text message to The Associated Press, said he would be treated for high blood pressure “amongst other things,” at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

College football

No. 7 Georgia got through its first two weeks without four starters on defense. At least two of them will be back for Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic.

Safety Sanders Commings and linebacker Chase Vasser have served two-game suspensions after brushes with the law during the offseason. Commings was charged with domestic violence, and Vasser was arrested for DUI.

• No. 4 Oregon has been dealt a blow with injuries to guard Carson York and free safety John Boyett. York had surgery on his kneecap and is out for the season. Boyett will need surgery to repair patellar tendons in both knees.

• The Pac-12 suspended Washington State safety Deone Bucannon for the first half of Friday’s game against UNLV for a hit to the head of an Eastern Washington player last Saturday.

NBA

Efforts to bring the NBA back to Seattle took a giant step forward in a revised arena deal, with investor Chris Hansen agreeing to kick in more money for transportation improvements near a proposed new $490 million arena, personally guaranteeing the city’s debt.

Local colleges

The UC San Diego men’s basketball team named Gerred Link as an assistant coach. Link was a Sonoma State assistant coach since 2010.